Kenora Catholic District School Board

Students were awarded for their hard work and dedication to their studies on Wednesday, at the St. Thomas Aquinas High School Academic Awards. Dozens of students and their families filled the gym to watch the students receive recognition for their high grades.

Grade 11 student Kirsten Favreau won the Principal's Gold Medal for her average of 96% in the 2017-2018 school year.

"It was pretty exciting. I put in a lot of hard work last year so it's nice to see it pay off in the end," she said. She also explained why she thinks it's important to recognize academic excellence.

"I think it's important to recognize students in all their strengths. Recognizing academics is equally as important as athletics or the arts because just as much hard work goes into it."

The academic awards are handed out for the highest marks in Grades 9, 10 and 11 for the previous school year, in this case, the 2017-2018 school year. Olivia Ura won the gold medal for her average of 95.43% in her Grade 11 year. Now in Grade 12, she talked about how she achieved such high marks.

"I studied a lot and I had a lot of support from my family and friends. The teachers also give a lot of extra time during their prep to help out and answer any questions you have before tests," she said.

Grade 10 student Julia Benson won the gold medal for her average of 96.38% in her Grade 9 school year. She stressed that getting good grades is also about self-care.

"I practiced time and stress management a lot and that helped me to focus on my grades as well as other things I'm doing in my life. I think your mental health has a lot to do with how you succeed in school because it has a big effect on your life and all aspects on it. It's really important that parents and teachers stress that to students that their mental well-being is important because it will affect their high school career," she said.

Full List - 2017-2018 Academic Awards

Principal's Medals Winners:

Grade 9

Grade 10

Grade 11